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Linking biophysical models and public preferences for ecosystem service assessments: a case study for the Southern Rocky Mountains

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Abstract

Through extensive research, ecosystem services have been mapped using both survey-based and biophysical approaches, but comparative mapping of public values and those quantified using models has been lacking. In this paper, we mapped hot and cold spots for perceived and modeled ecosystem services by synthesizing results from a social-values mapping study of residents living near the Pike–San Isabel National Forest (PSI), located in the Southern Rocky Mountains, with corresponding biophysically modeled ecosystem services. Social-value maps for the PSI were developed using the Social Values for Ecosystem Services tool, providing statistically modeled continuous value surfaces for 12 value types, including aesthetic, biodiversity, and life-sustaining values. Biophysically modeled maps of carbon sequestration and storage, scenic viewsheds, sediment regulation, and water yield were generated using the Artificial Intelligence for Ecosystem Services tool. Hotspots for both perceived and modeled services were disproportionately located within the PSI’s wilderness areas. Additionally, we used regression analysis to evaluate spatial relationships between perceived biodiversity and cultural ecosystem services and corresponding biophysical model outputs. Our goal was to determine whether publicly valued locations for aesthetic, biodiversity, and life-sustaining values relate meaningfully to results from corresponding biophysical ecosystem service models. We found weak relationships between perceived and biophysically modeled services, indicating that public perception of ecosystem service provisioning regions is limited. We believe that biophysical and social approaches to ecosystem service mapping can serve as methodological complements that can advance ecosystem services-based resource management, benefitting resource managers by showing potential locations of synergy or conflict between areas supplying ecosystem services and those valued by the public.

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Acknowledgments

Partial support for this work was provided by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Mendenhall Postdoctoral Research, Land Change Science, and YouthGo programs. Zach Ancona and Brian Voigt assisted with development of viewshed results, and Ferdinando Villa and Gary Johnson assisted with ARIES models. Carena van Riper and Alan Watson provided constructive feedback on earlier drafts of this paper. Initial ARIES data and models for the Southern Rocky Mountains were developed by students participating in a graduate level ecosystem services modeling course taught in the University of Denver’s Department of Geography in the fall of 2011. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO, USA

    Kenneth J. Bagstad, James M. Reed, Darius J. Semmens & Benson C. Sherrouse

  2. Department of Geography, University of Denver, Denver, CO, USA

    James M. Reed

  3. Department of Planning and Design, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO, USA

    Austin Troy

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  1. Kenneth J. Bagstad
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  2. James M. Reed
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  4. Benson C. Sherrouse
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Correspondence to Kenneth J. Bagstad.

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Bagstad, K.J., Reed, J.M., Semmens, D.J. et al. Linking biophysical models and public preferences for ecosystem service assessments: a case study for the Southern Rocky Mountains. Reg Environ Change 16, 2005–2018 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-015-0756-7

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